The Accursed Crew and the Kraken

The beast gazed down, its green eyes sizing up its prey. I could swear that smug, oversized calamari was smiling at us with its sharp, jagged teeth.

“What should we do, Captain?” Túta asked, slightly panicked.

“What do you mean?” I clenched my fist. “Obviously, we crush it!”

I didn’t wait for the others to make their move. I charged straight in, reaching into my belt and retrieving my cutlass. I ran forward to where one of the tendrils was flopped on the deck and swung my blade at it.

As much as I hoped my swing had penetrated the flesh of the beast, the cutlass merely bounced off, as if it were made of rubber. The recoil forced me to stumble to remain upright.

A pair of hands caught me from behind, halting my stagger.

“You are going to have to do better than that,” Túta laughed.

“Shut up,” I replied, panting heavily. “I’m doing my best.”

“Well, your best isn’t helping! Besides,” she paused and let out a deep breath. “We are a crew, let’s work together.”

I knew she was right.

“Looks tasty~” Raizel merrily sang as she skipped towards me.

“Too bad I’m gonna blast that beast before ya get a chance,” Mel competitively replied, pacing up and spinning around on her foot, her gun raised.

“I can do more damage than anyone else!” Elora pouted, swinging her axes side to side, as if to warm up.

“Wanna make a bet?” Mel chimed in as she loaded a bullet into her pistol.

“Not this again,” Túta sighed with a shrug.

“Oh my, this does sound like some fun,” Viola laughed, covering her mouth as her wires began to uncoil onto the deck.

“What will the winner get?” Melody asked innocently. The question caused all the girls' eyes to light up. Smiles crawled across their faces as they turned their attention to me.

“Whoever wins gets something of their choosing from Captain,” Pippa declared, not considering for a moment that I have any agency on the issue.

“Don’t I get a say in this?” I protested.

“Nope!” they all replied in unison.

“You shouldn’t be doing anything while nursing your broken ribs,” Túta snapped. I didn’t dare respond to her. Angry Túta was something I did not want to face. Knowing that any further protests were futile, I resigned myself to my fate.

“Well then, what if I win?” I asked.

“Don’t kid yourself, bro,” Túta replied condescendingly as she reached up and patted my back. Her cruel taunt made me want to prove her wrong out of sheer spite. “We all know that’s not going to happen.”

My wounded pride left me little comfort.

My crew all readied their weapons.

“Melody, get back!” Viola instructed her sister.

She nodded, retreating back to the cabin door. At the same time, Elora spun around on one foot, her axes extended like some sort of murderous spinning top. Her axes met the flesh of one of the tentacles, a slight impression, but not enough to even break the surface.

Thin wires wrapped around the same indented spot, reinforced by anchoring to the Ravager’s mast. Instead of restricting the tendril, the kraken flailed, and a loud crack reverberated around the ship. Viola was sent staggering forward. Blood dripped down her fingertips as several wooden splinters were caught by the wind and fired like projectiles.

The tentacle reared up into the air, and as it did, a figure ran up it.

Raizel?

She kept her left arm low, a blade extended as she ran it up the length of the appendage. If the kraken felt it, it sure didn’t show it. Like with all the previous attacks, there was no sign of any actual harm.

The tentacle curled, lifting higher into the air. Raizel ducked, using the mouth on her right hand to bite down on the slimy appendage to prevent her from falling into the choppy waves below.

“Ew!” Túta commented out loud with a disgusted look on her face as she latched onto my arm. She shoved me forward like a sacrificial lamb.

Regaining her footing, Raizel leapt from the creature, landing beside Túta and me.

“I’ve put worse in my mouth before,” she commented as she licked her lips.

“I’m afraid to ask—” I began as several loud bangs filled the air, snapping us back to the more pressing issue. Mel was firing shot after shot at the tip of the tendril. It appeared to momentarily halt the creature, although not enough to do any real harm.

“Our attacks are doing nothing!” Viola noted, finally showing some signs of nervousness.

“The creature is a much higher level. We should try an’ flee,” Mel commented.

I didn’t need further instructions. If my alcoholic, sharp-shooter was saying this looked dangerous, I had little doubt it was the case.

“Túta, helm the ship! Get us the hell out of here!” I instructed.

She didn’t need telling twice; she rushed off to the wheel.

“In the meantime, I’ll hold off the kraken,” Elora commented, already charging at the creature. The remaining crew members offered her their support, throwing all their attacks at the single tentacle just to defeat it. They were so fixated on the single appendage that they didn’t see the second one rising behind them.

“Watch out,” I yelled, chasing towards it. Every step hurt like hell, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to let anyone in my crew get hit by it.

The tendril rolled across the deck, smashing all remaining empty wooden barrels. I flung my blade in front. Instantly, I heard cracking and felt a sharp pain in my shoulder. A heartbeat later, the cutlass Bjørn made shattered, unable to take the full force of the kraken's attack.

The tentacle whipped across my chest, knocking the wind out of me as I staggered backwards, dropping to one knee. What little ribs weren’t broken before were now. I tried to gasp for air, but I was met with only pain.

I wanted to scream. Wanted to cry. But I knew I didn’t have time. At least it seemed to halt the tentacle's movement. It also gave the rest of the crew a chance to realise it wasn’t just a single tentacle they had to worry about. But unfortunately, they were preoccupied with just one.

I gazed at the resting tentacle. It wriggled mockingly just inches away.

If only there were a way to break down the stats…

An idea flashed into my mind, and a cruel smirk curled up my lips.

“Kid… what are you planning?” X asked, unable to hide the worry in his voice.

I ignored him and pressed my face against the tendril. The accursed gem flashed a brilliant red. The kraken let out a horrendous scream, and the entire ship rocked violently.

“Kid, should I be concerned that you stole the tentacle grapple skill?” X commented with a condescending tone.

“Don’t judge me! I didn’t choose this.”

“Right… the tentacle life chose you.” X fell silent.

The kraken shifted its gaze onto me. It was hard to make out a giant squid's expression, but I could swear I saw rage in its eyes.

“Captain!” Túta called, rushing up to us.

“Did you rush here to make fun of me, too?”

She tilted her head, confused, unable to hear X’s internal mocking.

“I don’t have time for jokes. The kraken is wrapped around the ship's hull. It won’t budge.”

I brought my thumb to my mouth, biting down on it.

“Fuck!”

“That’s not all…” she trailed off, avoiding making direct eye contact.

“Spit it out!”

“When I tried to steer the ship, I noticed there was a lot more resistance than usual.”

I shrugged.

“You already said that the kraken was wrapped around the hull. It’s not surprising that there was resistance.”

She shook her head.

“If it were that simple, it wouldn’t cause me so much concern. I think the ship has some damage.”

“She be dumb as bricks if she thinks the Ravager could be damaged by some pissy kraken,” X scoffed.

I pushed him out of my head to focus on the bigger issue.

“Is it serious?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well then, if escape isn’t an option, then we will need to just beat the creature,” I replied, although I was less certain than I wanted to be. We had been striking this beast with everything we had for several minutes, yet it didn’t seem like we were making any headway.

Túta nodded, and as if my words were the key for the rest of the crew to act, Elora charged the beast. It whipped one of its tendrils through the air, colliding with her body. I could see the visible pain on her face as she barely managed to block some of the attack with her axes. Her eyes flickered, barely holding onto consciousness as she fell towards the dark ocean below.

A wire caught her and yanked her back to the ship, rolling her beside Viola’s black boots. Túta raced over to administer first aid.

The beast, seemingly noticing the situation increasingly falling in its favour, lashed out once more, aiming for the three girls.

“Pippa Kicky~” Pippa shouted as her boot collided with the tentacle, lurching it backwards.

The kraken’s jade eyes widened. Its face momentarily flashed surprise before rage exploded. It roared, whipping its tentacle violently against the hull of the ship. The force of the impact caused everyone still standing to lose their footing.

“Lad, hand over ye body. The Kraken is too strong for your crew; besides, you have been inflicted with its poison. Without my skills or treatment, you’ll die eventually anyway. So, if you want to live, give me your body.”

I rose to my feet.

“Get stuffed, X. If I do, then I’m as good as dead anyway. I’ll take my chances with the squid.”

“Tch, Stubborn bastard. Ya better not die.”

“Wasn’t counting on it.”

X fell silent.

Before any of the crew had a chance to react, a large stream of fire filled the sky. The searing flames forced the kraken to let go of the ship. It narrowly avoided the brunt of the flames, but a few of the tendrils were singed. Perhaps sensing the threat, the kraken sank beneath the water, and the sky returned to normal.

“How dare you attack this ship, foul Kraken!” a booming voice called from the heavens above as a figure crashed onto the deck, forming a plume of dust. Out of the kicked-up dust stood a completely buck-naked man, shredded like a model, and with luscious violet hair.

▪──── X ────▪

End of chapter 59